Blue Shield of California

Who knew healthcare could be so innovative?

Think healthcare is still about a doctor’s scrawl on a prescription pad, paper charts, or endless telephone hold times? Think again. Blue Shield of California—the first California health plan provider to open a retail presence at a grocery store—is using cloud and social technologies to make its business more efficient and help Californians lead healthier lives.

A not-for-profit dedicated to providing access to high-quality healthcare at an affordable price, Blue Shield has been using Sales Cloud and the Salesforce Platform since 2007. Employees in functional teams across Blue Shield of California sell and manage employer accounts from first contact through group enrollment with a custom order management system. “Not only did we streamline processes and become more efficient, but we were able to do it at a fraction of the cost of other alternatives,” says Reva Gould, Director .

When Blue Shield formed a new ACO—or accountable care organization—it naturally turned to Salesforce. The innovative plan design, called BlueGroove, provides personalized support to help clients stay fit, and offers lower costs and other incentives to clients who lead healthy lifestyles. Complete consumer histories are maintained in Salesforce, bringing together information from patients, plan administrators, and physicians, and matching it with third party risk assessments. Using Service Cloud portals, doctor’s offices and patients can access data on work out regimens, upcoming appointments, and more.

Using social networks to stay healthy

Blue Shield of California is also pioneering the use of social networks to connect with healthcare customers. Using the Service Cloud, a team of agents can quickly respond to questions—such as coverage limits or how to treat postpartum depression—that are posted on Facebook or Twitter. Customers can easily browse a knowledge base through the company’s Facebook page for more information.

“Salesforce is helping us meet our clients where they are,” explains Gould. “So we can put a personal face on healthcare.”

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